Not six-yard box. Eighteen yard box within the width of the six yard box. We aren't talking tap-ins here, but what constitutes the real estate from which the vast majority of goals are scored.
My complaint about Koeman's style of play was that it was tedious more than anything. I am not begging for Koeman back. Where have I said anything about Koeman? My issue is that we were absolutely **** today beyond anything we should hace to put up with. I am sure we will get it right eventually, but Puel has got it wrong and needs to realise that. The comment you replied to was about this mystical Sourhampton Way which I am beginning to believe doesn't exist. If Puel came to do it the Southampton Way then the formation should be set in stone.
Quite the achievement I will say that this negative stat is not a tactical issue, but a quality issue. We had decent possession in and around the box, so our final ball was not up to scratch. A player is unlikely to get more than one or two touches at a time in this area of the pitch, so it will never generate much heat
We do have talent. We have 2 great wide men in Redmond and Tadic but neither are playing wide. Spot on. I thought Austin played really well but the rest of the team just could not find him. Tadic is no No10
It's a tactical issue as well as a quality issue. If it takes you too long to get into the final third, you'll be greeted by an organized troupe of players. Now, the final ball needs to be absolutely perfect for anything to happen, and even there you might be relying on a defender making an error to allow it through. That's the reason we have been taking so many shots from distance...we're doing most of our work in front of defenses because of the tactics, and we lack the elite talent to waltz through ten defenders.
No managerial change is ever seamless, they will always have their own methods and personalities, they are not robots. Sometimes it can take longer for their ideas to be instilled.
Virgil - "Hardly any of us can understand what Puel is saying and those that do fall asleep before they can interpret it. I'm handing in a transfer request in the morning. Please pay saintlyhero £3000"
He "fell over" trying to get a "soft" free kick a couple of times and left his defence struggling to cover the space.
Damn, trying to influence the people I influenced? Then trying to influence the people I influenced to give you money? How dare you influence the people I have already influenced. Trying to out influence me! I will just wait until I get 3 people pay me a k, then will pay you.
Austin was offside on three excellent chances to score. And those chances weren't only excellent because he was offside. He just left a fraction of a second too early or alternatively Davis passed it a fraction of a second too late. The chances were there today. And there would have been more chances if our defense weren't so rank and kept us pinned back for 20 minutes in the first half.
Whilst I concede that we were slow in our build up play on a number of occasions. I think it's a bit of a myth that a lot of attacks are great counter opportunities The vast majority of attacks start off with the opposition set already, because possession begins with the keeper or at least deep in your own half following a failed attempt from the opponents. I think we got ourselves into plenty of promising situations either outwide or on the edge of the box but failed to execute or hold our nerve at the vital moments. Whether that's confidence or player quality is also up for debate.
So I just got a chance to peek in after getting in from work and finishing some stuff off, and according to some the sky is falling down and we're all doomed and Claude is clueless? Is that right?
No, he definitely ran out of puff. Agree he was excellent for much of the game but JWP coming on injected a much required energy, an exact copy(but in reverse) of the Watford game when PEH came on for Prowsie.